Nothing woo-woo here. “Militant Optimism” is not the same thing as ‘everything will be alright’. It is also not the same thing as expecting the worst all the time. By the way, which do you think is better for your health and longevity? The Upper? Or the Downer?
Turns out it’s the Downer, which seems at odds with the idea that a good attitude is linked to good health. And yet, there is research suggesting that people who worry more about something going wrong take more action to take better care of themselves. So they live longer.
Educated Hope
Even better, though, is something different—cherry picking the best of both worlds, the pessimistic and the optimistic. It is a way of living that combines optimism’s hope with pessimism’s action. German philosopher, Ernst Bloch, called it “Educated Hope.” It is a commitment to action for the greater good, grounded in a deeply held belief that things can be better than they currently are, or maybe even better than ever before.
I hope that got your attention. Everyone is saying it, and some of us even believe that now is an opportunity for things to be better than ever before. True, things are a frightening mess around the world right now. Still, one study found that only 12% of Brits even want to go back to exactly the way things were; as one person put it: “I want a more equal society: I want us to tackle climate change and I want the divisions that were there before this crisis to be healed.”
Yes We Can
With crisis there is opportunity, as they say. And right now the world belongs to those who seize that opportunity with Militant Optimism, Educated Hope, Dogged Determination, or whatever you want to call it for yourself. From Rabbi Tarfon in 70 C.E:
It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to desist from it either.
You got this. All we have to do is try. Easy Peasy. With optimism’s hope and pessimism’s action we should all be able to make a difference, no matter how big, no matter how small. Works for me, and would love to know: Does “Militant Optimism” do anything for you? Let us know in the comments below.
Warm wishes,
Madelaine
Why does the word Militant have to be used? Wouldn’t a different word work better? To me militant connotes a billigerance or an against righteousness rather than anything that moves forward.
Thanks, Judy. Your point is well taken. On the other hand, that was German philosopher, Ernst Bloch’s terminology. I had never heard it before and it caught my attention. so maybe that’s what is good about it, grabs attention, and calls to action. Keyword: Action. Not simply wallowing in worry nor complacency when there is work to be done. I suppose we could call it “Action Optimism.” Better describes but maybe not as activating as the Militant word. What do you think might be a better word?
Have you been reading Steven Pinker (Enlightenment Now, The Better Angels of Our Nature) again? I happen to agree that on the whole the human species has made discernible progress toward civilizing itself and figuring out how to utilize Earthly resources to sustain an exploding population despite the prospect of climate change devastation looming. But I also am fascinated with the seemingly invariable and inevitable tendency especially pronounced right now (during these #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 pandemic health threat, economic dislocation, unemployment woes, sports and travel on hold) Dog Days of Summer for everybody to surmise and suppose that these are the “worst of times” with the hoof-beats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse growing closer. Your message about individuals benefiting from worry about something going wrong prompting them to take better care of themselves in the now hopefully (to borrow your theme) applies broadly and collectively to societies and all of humankind, too.
Thank you, Steven! Yes, that was pretty interesting that the worriers did better in health and longevity, although there is worrying and there is worrying, I suppose. To your other point about the worst of times, I’m reading American Prometheus (Oppenheimer), and trying to put myself in the shoes of people living in the times of depression, war, “the bomb,” or when during my own childhood, we had to hide under the desk, not sure any of that was any less anxiety provoking than what we are all living through now. In any case, Bruce Keiler’s book on transitions, specifies ABC (Agency, Belonging, Cause) as ingredients of good living, No reason why we can’t all live by that in ways however small, no matter what.